I bought this Hitachi Travelstar 2.5 500GB 7200 rpm hard drive to replace my 13" Macbook Pro (160GB) 2009. With some help from Ron(previous reviewer) and my brother-in-law, I was able to install it and now it is running perfectly. I notice this drive run faster and more quiet than my previous 160GB drive. My last drive also run very hot after an hour of use, I guess because of Aperture 3 and other photo editing softwares, but with this Travelstar, it is much cooler. I am happy with my purchase and will do it again if I have to. My next and final step is to install 4GB RAM into my 13" Macbook Pro.
Hope this helps! Hitachi Travelstar 2.5 Inch 500 GB 7200 RPM SATA II 16 MB Cache Internal Hard Drive 0S02858
Firstly, readers should know that I haven't yet tested this hard drive (HD). I have bought it last week from Amazon, but haven't opened it yet as I am currently debating whether to use this HD or return it in favor of another one (I am strongly considering the Western Digital Scorpio Black). I had to include a rating for this comment to be posted; I wanted to post this comment despite not actually testing this HD (0S02858) as it supports the comments of another reviewer, Ron, and, I think, provides some important information for those looking for a notebook PC internal hard drive and considering Hitachi among their options. I initially bought this HD to replace the recently- deceased HD in my Dell M1330 notebook PC based on a strong recommendation from an acquaintance on a notebook PC forum. The acquaintance actually recommended the Hitachi 7K500 500GB 7200RPM HD, but Amazon apparently did not carry that particular model. However, one of the previous reviewers, Ron, wrote in the comments section that this HD (0S02858) is actually the 7K500 and in fact Hitachi sells several HDs with different model numbers that are actually relabeled 7K500 HDs. After I purchased this HD, I found some information at another dealer that suggested this HD (0S02858) is a different model than the 7K500. I emailed Hitachi last week asking about this situation and received a very brief response that the 0S02858 is different from the 7K500.
As you may have noticed, Amazon sells 3 (at time of this writing; the number seems to vary over time) Hitachi 500GB 7200RPM notebook PC HDs with different model numbers, but otherwise seem identical. Again, Amazon does not seem to sell the 7K500. The Hitachi website lists only two HD models that are 500GB and 7200RPM, and none of the aforementioned three models. I emailed Hitachi again today after receiving their first reply and asked specifically if the three Hitachi HD models sold by Amazon (listed below, as well as in my 2nd email query to Hitachi) were indeed different from the 7K500 or if they were the same HD relabeled and repackaged. Within 2 hours, I received a 2nd, more detailed response from a Hitachi representative, "Art". I copied below his reply, and below it, listed the 4 Hitachi HD models (including the 7K500, bottom of the list) that I specifically listed in my email query:
"Hello Kenneth,
Thank You for contacting Hitachi GST Technical Support.
They are all essentially the same model and all carry our 3-year warranty, however
the part and model number mostly differ due to changes in retail packaging or possible firmware differences. You should expect the same performance and experience out of all of them. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.
Best Regards,
Art
Technical Support Specialist
1.888.426.5214 Toll Free
8 AM-6:30PM PST
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies"
Hitachi Travelstar 2.5 Inch 500GB 7200RPM SATA II 16 MB Cache Internal Hard Drive 0S02858
Hitachi Travelstar 2.5 Inch 500GB 7200RPM SATA II 16 MB Cache Internal Hard Drive 0S00157
Hitachi Travelstar 2.5 Inch 500GB 7200RPM SATA II 16MB Cache Internal Hard Drive 0A72335
Hitachi Travelstar 7K500 HD20500 IDK/7K 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive
In short, Hitachi has verified Ron's assertion that this Hitachi HD (0S02858) is the same as the 7K500 and that several other Hitachi models are also the 7K500 relabeled and repackaged.
This is a fast, quiet and reliable Travelstar 7K500 drive in new retail packaging. Label on my drive indicates P/N: 0A72335 and my system enumerates drive as "HTS725050A9A364." Seems Hitachi markets these drives with various item numbers including: HD20500IDK/7K, 0S00157, H2IK5001672SP and 0S02858. I have three different retail boxes purchased over the past year or so and while they do have different item numbers they all contained drives with P/N: 0A72335. The packaging shown above seems to be the latest as of Aug-2010.
used this drive to replace the 160GB drive on a 2008 aluminum MacBook. The hardware portion of the upgrade was very easy and straightforward. I did have to reinstall OSX from scratch. Startup time of the laptop is significantly shorter than before, but it can be partially due to the fresh OSX install. It has been up and running for 2 weeks, so it is too early to comment on reliability. The thing that annoys me is that this drive is significantly noisier than the original Toshiba. There is a constant noise that resemble a fan noise (not the clicking noise that present when drive is reading/writing). I had the laptop running without the battery cover to expose the hard drive, using both the old and new drive, and confirmed that the noise is from the new drive and not the exhaust fan of the laptop. This noise is constantly present, even when there is no hard drive activity. However, I have to put it in perspective. The original Toshiba is SILENT when idle, so this new drive is obviously noisier than that. But it is not noticeable in a normal office environment. It is, however, very noticeable if it is at a quiet home and within typing distance. - Sata - Internal Hard Drive - 500 Gb - Laptop'
Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information
